The Democratic candidates for Charlottesville City Council discussed Charlottesville public schools and city finances at a forum held at City Hall Saturday.
Six candidates faced-off at the forum: Bern Ewert, former city manager; Alexandria Searls, a professor at Mary Baldwin College and soon-to-be adjunct professor at the University; David Simmons, a University nurse; Joan Fenton, a businesswoman; Waldo Jaquith, a Web site designer; and Blake Caravati, the current mayor of Charlottesville.
At the Democratic Convention this Saturday, Feb. 23, the six candidates will contest for the Democratic nominations for the two open seats on the Council.
As of now, no Republican has declared candidacy for the May 7 race. All the current members of the City Council are Democrats.
The seats up for election currently are held by retiring Council member David Toscano and Caravati.
Every two years the Council selects one of its members to be the Charlottesville mayor. Elections for the five seats on the Council are staggered, with two or three members elected every two years.
The atmosphere at the forum was amiable. The candidates agreed with each other on most questions posed, often echoing each other's positions. The most confrontational moments occurred when several candidates repeatedly teased Jaquith about his bright red "power" tie.
The candidates addressed the issues of how to help underachieving Charlottesville school children and how better to serve black students.
All six expressed a desire to keep the Jefferson School, the city's first black high school and now a preschool, operational.
"We have a huge achievement gap" in Charlottesville schools, with many high achievers but too many low achievers, Simmons said.
Many black parents in Charlottesville do not trust the school system, Searls said.
All the candidates stressed volunteerism and better communication between the school board and parents.
The candidates also discussed city finances and the anticipated state budget cuts.
Fenton stressed the importance of increasing tourist revenues for the city, while Jaquith said the city should lobby the state to increase taxes.
Jaquith also said he represented the young people of Charlottesville.
"Forty-nine percent of Charlottesville residents are my age or younger," said Jaquith, who is 23-years-old. "Do you think we're being represented on Council?"
The race includes two current or future University employees. Simmons is the director of clinical services for the Nephrology Clinic at the University Medical Center. Searls will teach videography at the University this summer.
The Democratic convention to nominate candidates will be held this Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Charlottesville Performing Arts Center at Charlottesville High School.
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